Goldfields were located approximately near the junction of the Klondike and Yukon rivers. Mines, or mine locations, were often named in relation to the nearest major mine, such as above or below Discovery Mine, or above or below Bonanza Mine.

Nuggets and flakes of gold dust were known as placer gold. This type of gold washed into the streams and creeks that fed the Klondike River. Since gold is heavier than sand and dirt, the gold sank to the bottoms of the creek beds. It collected there until 1896 where the first prospectors and miners found the first nuggets of Klondike gold.

Goetzman photographed miners year-round as they were digging and scrapping their way along riverbeds. Miners re-routed streams using sluice boxes to channel the water where they needed it the most. High cribbing was used for winter mining, while the sluice boxes were used for summer mining operations.

News of gold in Nome, Alaska in 1899 inspired stampeders from across the region to travel a 1,200-mile journey. Large quantities of gold were found at the mouth of the Yukon. The Klondike Gold Rush was over.